i am an offering

Today is Valentine’s Day. Many people today might feel very loved by someone in their life and find satisfaction and comfort in that love. Many people might feel lonely and depressed, wondering if love even exists. However, for both people, earthly love will fade and never satisfy. I was pointed to a hymn this week that I had never heard of before that puts God’s Love in some amazing imagery that really opened my eyes to its vastness - “The Love of God.” Check it out -

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

What absolutely amazing words! If you’re feeling loved today, know that His love is greater than any earthly love you could imagine. If you’re feeling unloved today, let these words fill you with hope and peace.

Two interesting things about this hymn: The first is that the third verse is adapted from a Jewish poem, Hadamut. You can read more about it here. Secondly, there is a great recording of this hymn by Mercy Me on their Spoken For album.

*I will be sharing my answers to yesterday’s questions tomorrow, as I thought highlighting this hymn would be perfect for today.

A very common situation I see often in working with musicians is that they get a little bit nervous whenever I ask them to just “chord” a hymn by looking at the hymn’s music. While this seems daunting to some, I’d love to give you a few simple tips on how to do it. I’ll also talk about the drawbacks to doing this as well. (This post assumes you have a good grasp of basic music theory.  If you don’t, I would suggest visiting here.)

First: Determine the chords you need.  Most of the time, these will be the chords on the downbeat of a measure.  Because hymns tended to have very complex, moving, four-part harmony, the downbeat was usually where the major chords fell.  If only the downbeat doesn’t sound quite right, look for the chord on beat three (if it’s written in 4/4) or beat four (if it’s written in 6/8) next.  Find all of the major chords that are needed for the melody to sound correct.  Once you determine a chord, pencil it in.  Most of the time, you can rely on the soprano and alto lines to determine your chords, but….

Second: Watch the bass line.  If you are unsure of what the chord is, check out the bass note.  Most times this note will give you the last piece of the puzzle you need to figure out the chord.  However, this can be deceiving to people who aren’t as familiar with music theory.  Don’t use the bass note as your sole determination for the chord.  One of the greatest things about hymns is their use of inversions (a different way to play the same chord) in the music.  Many times, there will be a D chord on top with an F# in the bass, making this a first inversion D chord, and usually leading to a chord with a G on the bottom.  Take advantage of these ‘out of place’ bass notes.  They make the chord structure much more interesting!  And don’t forget to write inversions out on the chord sheet.  If you have a first inversion D chord, make sure it’s written D/F# so the bass player knows to play an F# on the bottom.

So, once you’ve figured out the major chords, and the major bass notes that go with each chord, you have an instant chord chart for this hymn!

The one major drawback to this method of scaling down the notes of hymns and making them a bit more modern is that the harmonies will sometimes end up changing.  So, either you’re going to have to write out some new harmonies for those singers whose ears aren’t as developed, or you’re going to have to trust that your singers will find these new harmonies. 

Sometimes the modern harmonies might throw off the congregation as well, so do this technique with a lot of wisdom and discernment!  Let me know if you have success in this area.

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”
Psalm 59:16

While I really enjoy modern music and I am a big advocate of vertical songs (songs sung directly to God), there is a huge benefit to keeping the hymns of the church alive.  Unfortunately, a lot of the language is hard to understand for new believers.  So, on this Reformation Day, I thought it would be fitting to talk about Luther’s great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood.
Of mortal ills prevailing.

The word bulwark doesn’t seem to be used very often anymore; dictionary.com’s second definition is this:

2. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance

God is a fortress that cannot be shaken.  A bulwark is something that protects against attack, against flood, against outside influence.  In the flood of the world’s teachings that come at us, God is our helper that can never be moved.

For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe-
His craft and pow’r are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8.  Our ancient foe, the devil has great power.  He has great cunning.  He is a great deceiver.  He especially hates those who live for Jesus and wants to crush us.  Things sound kind of bleak don’t they?  Not if we keep looking at the next verse:

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing.

If we trust in ourselves to defeat the devil.  If we trust in our own strength to make it through our lives, we will lose.  But we have the right Man on our side!!  We have the Man God chose to be the power we need.

Dost ask who that may be? 
Christ Jesus, it is He
Lord Sabaoth His name, 
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

You ask who it is that God chose?  It is Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of Lords who is our fortress that cannot be shaken through the ages.  And he will and must win the battle that we struggle with every day.

And tho this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph thru us. 

The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure: 
One little word shall fell him.

The world is full of the devil’s plans.  But we have no need to fear, as long as God’s truth is living in us.  We do not tremble for the devil, because that one little word, “Jesus,” will fell him.  That name will cripple the devil every time.

That word above all earthly pow’rs
No thanks to them abideth;
The spirit and the gifts are ours
Thru Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also
The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still:
His kingdom is forever!

That Word, Jesus Christ, is lifted above every power on earth, and He abides forever.  God’s spirit and the gifts of God are ours through Jesus Christ.  Therefore, we declare that things of this world are worth nothing compared to knowing Him.  His truth is the fortress that cannot be shaking, and His kingdom is a kindgom that will last for eternity!

I praise God that He has given us words such as these that have lived on through the centuries.  And I encourage you, the next time you don’t understand a hymn, a Bible passage, look for help!  Ask someone about it.  I know that there are many people who would be more than willing to explain it to you.